I Don't
by EmilyLove
Summary: Stephanie goes on vacation after she calls off her wedding to Morelli.   Babe story.  Spoilers for book 13.
1. Chapter 1

**I Don't **

* * *

_**Chapter One**_  
Stephanie Plum stared down at the piles of packages, presents, and greeting cards awaiting her in her living room. Her grandmother had been wrong. The worst part hadn't been calling off her wedding, she thought as she sidestepped the clutter on her way to the bathroom, this was. Two-hundred disappointed guests, and she would have to send them all a personal apology, as well as return the gifts they had bought for her and what was to be her new husband.

On the other hand, she was relieved and confident she had made the right choice. Her relationship with Joe Morelli, even at its best, had been rocky, and the sacrifices they would have had to make in order to keep a relationship—a _marriage—_afloat would have been too costly for either of them in the long run. Her only regret, she decided as she bent down to adjust the temperature of her bathwater, was that she hadn't had the guts to call it off _before_ the guests had arrived.

Stephanie stood in front of her vanity mirror and took a good long look at herself. Her hair had loosened from the rhinestone hairpins used to secure her wedding day updo, and the makeup she'd so carefully painted on the day before had smeared overnight as she slept on her friend Lula's couch. _I look like the Bride of Frankenstein_, she thought balefully to herself as she unfastened the hairpins and slathered her face in makeup removing cream. _But at least I didn't make the same mistake twice._

Stephanie sank into the water and leaned back, resting her head on the rolled up towel she was using as a pillow. She had been so stressed the past few months, what with planning an organizing the wedding, attending dinners with both of their families, and arranging to have her furniture moved into their new house…

_Oh, god_, Stephanie thought, remembering she had already given a thirty-day notice on her apartment.

Feeling another pang of anxiety low in her gut, Stephanie forced herself to take in a deep cleansing breath. She could relax for now. It was still early—barely six o'clock in the morning. She would call her landlord later in the day to see if it was too late to renew her lease, as well as call the movers and cancel her appointment with them. Stephanie closed her eyes and did a mental recount of things she needed to do…or _undo._ In addition to working out her living situation, she would have to speak with the bank and have her name taken off Joe's credit cards and bank accounts, put a notice in with the post office canceling the temporary hold on her mail, and then there was the issue of the unused honeymoon…

Feeling overwhelmed once more, Stephanie again forced herself once again to relax. It would take work, but eventually things would go back to normal.

Well, as normal as her life had ever been. _Normal_ for Stephanie meant blowing up cars, chasing down skips, and putting up with the occasional stalker. Which, Stephanie conceded, wasn't all that normal at all.

Just as Stephanie was getting settled, her cell phone rang from its location on the kitchen counter. Letting out a frustrated groan, Stephanie contemplated letting it go to voicemail, but quickly shook off the notion. She couldn't hide from her family and friends forever. Sooner or later she would have to explain herself.

"I'm coming," Stephanie grumbled aloud in response to the persistent ringing as she rose out of the bath. She wrapped herself in a towel and rushed into the kitchen, tripping over one of the larger wrapped boxes and almost losing her balance in the process.

"Hello?" Stephanie answered as calmly as she could, fighting off the urge to curse at the pending bruise on her ankle.

Lula was on the other end of the line. "It's me," Lula said. "I'm just calling to make sure you got home okay. You sound out of breath. Am I interrupting something?"

Stephanie rolled her eyes. She had been single for less than twenty-four hours, and already she was expected to have moved on.

"No," Stephanie said into the phone. "I tripped over...I think it's an ice cream maker."

"Oh," Lula said, sounding disappointed. "I thought maybe Ranger had heard about your breakup with Morelli and stopped by for a visit."

_If only_, Stephanie thought before she could stop herself It had been three weeks since Stephanie had seen Ranger, ever since he had left for Miami to take care of his business there. She hadn't so much as heard from him in that time, not since he kissed her in her apartment and told her goodbye. Deep down, she had always suspected she had been the reason he had left so abruptly. More accurately, her _wedding_ had been the reason. Once again, Ranger had moved out of her way to ensure her happiness…

Except it hadn't worked this time. Even with all the hubbub of wedding planning to keep her busy, the last three weeks without Ranger had been the loneliest three weeks of her entire life. Never had she felt so completely alone and _un_happy, a realization she now knew had been the determining factor in her calling off her own wedding not two hours before she and her husband-to-be were set to take their vows.

Shaking off her thoughts as best she could, Stephanie turned her attention back to her friend.

"Ranger is still in Miami," Stephanie said to Lula. "I'm not even sure he knows about yesterday. And it wouldn't make a difference if he did know. Ranger and I are just friends. That's all."

"If you say so," Lula said. "You still need help taking back all those gifts?"

Stephanie sighed. "Yeah," she said. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Shit, yes," Lula said. "You need anything? Coffee? Breakfast?"

"Breakfast would be good."

"Okay. Give me half an hour," Lula said, followed by a brief pause. "Actually, give me an hour. I think Tank's coming to, and I wanna be here when he gets up, if you know what I mean."

Stephanie was dressed and ready to begin when Lula arrived at her apartment carrying two McDonald's bags and four cups of coffee.

_"Damn,"_ Lula said as she tried to navigate through all the clutter of unused wedding favors and unopened gifts. She handed Stephanie one of the bags and two coffees, and took a seat on the edge of the couch. "How'd you get all this shit to fit in your apartment?"

"I don't know," Stephanie said. "Joe had some of the guys from the force bring it all here."

Lula took a drink of coffee and looked over at Stephanie. "I don't want to cause trouble between you and the cop, but his house is twice the size of your apartment. Why didn't he take some of it?"

"I called off the wedding," Stephanie said through a bite of Egg McMuffin, "so it's my responsibility. And besides, I don't think anyone wants their presents back with dog slobber all over them."

"I guess you're right about the dog slobber," Lula said. She finished her breakfast sandwich and wadded up the wrapper. "Where do you want to start?"

Stephanie sunk low on the couch and groaned, not looking forward to the work ahead of them. She pressed her palms against her closed eyes and tried to stay positive. "Why did we let our parents talk us into inviting so many people?"

"You were trying to make everyone happy," Lula said, shaking her head. "It's not the first time, either."

Lula was right, Stephanie thought to herself. Her relationship with Joe, the engagement, the wedding… it had all been to make her family happy. She was sick of seeing the disappointment on their faces, hearing their lectures on how she should settle down, have kids, and get a real job, one that didn't find her in trouble 24/7.

"You're not getting any younger," her mother would tell her, a fact Stephanie knew to be true, having seen the fine lines starting to appear around her eyes. "I don't want you to wake up one day on the wrong side of thirty-five and wonder why you don't have children and a family. What are you waiting on?"

_Ranger,_ Stephanie thought to herself. _I'm waiting on Ranger_.

Stephanie had finally realized it on the day of her wedding, as she was going over her vows one last time. She could promise to be faithful to Joe, and she could keep that promise. But she couldn't stand before God and her family and give him her heart. Her heart wasn't hers to give anymore. It hadn't been for a long time. Her heart, all of it, belonged to someone else.

Stephanie felt a lump forming in her throat and tried to swallow it down. In her attempt to make everyone else happy, she had made herself miserable.

"You miss him, don't you?" Lula asked

Stephanie snapped alert. "Him, who?"

Lula rolled her eyes. "Don't give me none of that," she said. "You know who. I haven't seen you smile once since he went away on business. And from what Tank tells me, he's not doing too well, either."

"Tank's heard from him?"

"A few times," Lula said. "It's work, mostly. Tank doesn't tell me much, which makes sense because Ranger doesn't tell him much. Probably because he knows I'll tell you. Anyway, Tank's got eyes and ears all over that office in Miami, and what those eyes and ears have been telling him hasn't been pretty."

Stephanie waited for Lula to continue. When she didn't, Stephanie leaned forward and nudged her in the shoulder. "Well?"

"Well, nothing," Lula said. "That's all I know. Just that Ranger's not his usual self."

"In what way?"

"I don't know," Lula said. "But if you ask me, you managed to do to Ranger what no hired assassin has ever managed to do."

"Such as?"

"You shot that poor man right in the heart," Lula said. "And all you had to do was put a ring on your finger."


	2. Chapter 2

**I Don't**

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

Two hours later, Stephanie and Lula were still sorting through packages. They had arranged them into three piles. The first pile was the smallest, and was comprised of greeting cards stuffed with personal checks and gift certificates. In the second pile were gifts sent from friends and family who lived outside Trenton and hadn't been able to attend the wedding. The third pile consisted of gifts from close friends and extended family. It was by far the largest, taking up more than half of the small living room, and Stephanie strongly suspected, just by viewing the shapes and sizes of the boxes, that most of them contained some kind of kitchen gadget.

_Just what I need_, Stephanie thought, shaking her head as she lifted the third identically shaped present and placed it on the pile with the others, _another roasting pan._

Across the room, Lula was singing along to the radio while she worked. _"I trusted him...but when I followed you...I saw you together..."_

Her hips were swaying in rhythm with the music, her body accenting the beats as she danced across the room.

"_I didn't know about you then...how can you say I…"_ Lula stopped singing and looked over at Stephanie. "What do you want to do with this one?" Lula asked, holding up one of the packages.

"Who is it from?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know," Lula said. "It doesn't have a name on it."

"What about a card?"

"I didn't see a card, either."

Stephanie walked over to where Lula was standing and closely examined the package. Instead of being skillfully wrapped in foil-embossed paper, like all the other gifts, this package was wrapped in plain brown paper held together with masking tape.

"Huh, that's weird," Stephanie said. "The card must have slipped off the package. Where did you find it?"

"By the door," Lula said. "It was just sitting there. Maybe you should open it to see if there's a card inside."

"Maybe," Stephanie said, but something was bothering her about this particular gift. She furrowed her brow and tried to remember. She didn't recall seeing a package in her foyer when she had returned home this morning, but she hadn't been paying very close attention, and it would have been easy to overlook with boxes and bags littered over every surface.

Lula took the package and held it to her ear. "This might help you out," she said. "It's a clock. Do you know anyone who might give you a clock as a wedding gift?"

"My Aunt Tootsie," Stephanie said, "but she gave me a clock at my last wedding, and that was a disaster. I don't think she would risk it the second time."

Lula sighed and gave the package another shake. "Well, if it's not a clock, what is it? Help me out, here. What else makes a ticking noise?"

Stephanie and Lula gave each other a wide-eyed stare. _"Bomb!"_ they said in unison, and Lula rushed over to the living room window. She opened the window and tossed out the pagack, and she and Stephanie both watched as it landed with a soft thump on the pavement below.

They stood there for a few moments, watching the package, but nothing happened.

"That was a close one," Lula said, wiping sweat off her forehead with the sleeve of her sweater. "Looks like it's a dud."

"Or a set of monogrammed hand towels," Stephanie offered. "Are you sure it was ticking?"

Before Lula could answer, a loud bang erupted from the parking lot, the blast loud and powerful enough to shake the building. Stephanie and Lula shielded their eyes from the sweltering heat rising from where the package had landed and stood together in stunned silence.

"There's Tank," Lula said, breaking the silence as a black SUV entered the lot. Tank got out and scanned the area. "We're up here!" Lula yelled, waving her arms back and forth in front of the window.

"What's he doing?" Stephanie asked, unable to see through the black cloud of smoke billowing up from the smoldering mess.

Lula squinted her eyes and fanned the smoke away from her face.

"I'll bet you anything he's calling Ranger to let him know you're okay," Lula said, giving Stephanie a know-it-all look.

Stephanie sighed loudly and seated herself on the edge the floral club chair opposite Lula. An uncomfortable feeling was settling over her, one she couldn't ignore. Ever since she'd met Ranger, he had taken it upon himself to be her protector. He had been her safety net, rescuing her and providing her with safety whenever she needed it. Even now, when he had no obligation to her at all, he would be on call, waiting to hear word that she was okay.

And never had she so much as thanked him.

As if thrown into this icy realization by a gale of wind, Stephanie felt a chill rush through her. She had never meant to take Ranger for granted, had never meant to hurt him. But somehow, in the midst of fighting off her feelings for him--feelings that seemed to multiply with every touch and every word spoken between them--she had.

Trying to regain her composure as best she could, Stephanie thought of what to do next. Her engagement to Joe had opened her eyes to a lot of things, about life, about love, and about herself. She didn't want to be the woman Ranger had to worry about and look after. She didn't want to become a burden to him. What she wanted, she decided, was an equal partnership between them. But for that to work, she would have to make some serious changes in her life.

_But how?_

The door to Stephanie's apartment opened, and Tank walked inside.

"Everyone okay?"

Stephanie raised her head and nodded.

"Yeah," Lula said. "We're okay. No thanks to whoever sent that bomb."

The room was quiet while everyone took in the gruesome reality of what had just happened.

"The police and fire marshall will want to talk to you," Tank said to Stephanie. "I passed them on the way in. But you should probably pack your things and find a safe place to stay until we find out who did this."

Stephanie fought off the urge to groan. There was only one place she would feel safe right now, and that place was Ranger's apartment. But without him there with her, the place felt sterile and unwelcoming. And _very_ lonely.

Stephanie looked around her apartment, her eyes descending finally onto the stack of cards she had collected in a small basket on her dining room table. Somewhere in that pile, she knew, were two plane tickets to Paradise Island, where she and Joe had planned on spending their honeymoon. Two weeks of rest and relaxation on a tropical island was just what she needed to clear her head and decide on her next move…


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three_**

"You can't be serious." Helen Plum stopped what she was doing, stirring the small pot of potatoes boiling on the stove, and struck her daughter with a puzzled look. "You called off your wedding! You can't go on your honeymoon!"

"Why not?"

"That's not how it works." Mrs. Plum moved the pot of potatoes over to the sink to drain. "First you get married, _then_ you go on your honeymoon…with your husband. You don't go alone after walking out on your wedding." As if a terrible thought had just occurred to her, Mrs. Plum turned suddenly to Stephanie. "You're not going with someone else, are you?"

"Of course not," Stephanie said, barely stifling a sigh. "Who would I go with?"

Mrs. Plum looked as if she was about to say something, but resigned her attention again to the potatoes.

"I'll only be gone for two weeks," Stephanie said. "Lula's taking care of my apartment and Rex while I'm gone. If you and Valerie could help sort the wedding gifts…"

Mrs. Plum sighed and gave a reluctant nod. "Bring them over and I'll store them in the garage," she said. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Actually I was hoping I could stay here tonight. There was a fire at my apartment building and Tank thinks I should stay away for a while. That's the reason I'm taking a vacation in the first place."

_Well, that and because I don't want to run into Joe anytime soon,_ Stephanie thought miserably to herself. She knew running into Joe would happen sooner or later, but it gave her comfort that she could avoid him for at least the next two weeks.

"Yes, of course you can stay here," Mrs. Plum said, shaking her head. She made a sign of the cross and Stephanie involuntarily cringed. Had she always been such a disappointment to her family? "Sometimes I don't know what on earth I'm going to do with you."

Stephanie awoke with a renewed fervor for life despite the rain pouring down outside her bedroom window. She had packed her bags the night before and set her bags beside her bedroom door. If she was lucky, she could make it out of the house without waking anyone up. Dinner the night before had been full of questions from her sister, mother, and Grandma Mazur. It was enough to send her to bed early with a headache. She wasn't looking forward to an early morning repeat of their interrogation.

Stephanie was so focused on the silence of early morning she nearly jumped out of her skin when her cell phone rang.

"Are you ready to go?" Lula voice asked over the line.

"Just about," Stephanie replied in a whisper. "Thanks for driving me to the airport. I owe you one."

"Save it for later. There's been a change of plans," Lula said. "Tank didn't think it was a good idea for you and me to be in a car together after what happened at your apartment, yesterday. He said if anything happens to you he'll be up shit creek without a paddle."

"Uh oh. Rangeman escort?"

"Yep," Lula said. "The man himself is on his way to get you right now. You better not blow him up, either. I'll be pissed off if you blow him up."

Stephanie laughed. She had never seen Lula so happy as she was with Tank; and though she didn't know Tank very well, she suspected he was happy, too.

Tank was waiting for Stephanie at the curb when she let herself out of her parent's house. She dragged her suitcase to the SUV he was driving and loaded it into the back seat. They had been driving in absolute silence for half an hour before Stephanie decided to say something.

"Ranger's okay with me taking a vacation?"

Tank didn't say anything, but Stephanie persisted.

"Hello? I asked you a question."

"Ranger doesn't know," Tank said finally.

"You didn't tell him?" Stephanie said after she'd picked her jaw up off the floor.

"I can't reach him. No one can."

A sudden surge of panic ripped through Stephanie quicker than a double shot of caffeine. "What is that supposed to mean? Is he okay? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Ranger dropped off the grid two days ago. No one knows where he went or why."

Stephanie could tell by the tone of Tank's voice that he knew just as she did that the reason why was because of her wedding.

The wedding that had never happened.

"Oh my god! He doesn't know I'm not married to Morelli!"

Tank shook his head.

"You don't think he went out and got himself killed do you?"

"Do you think Ranger would get himself killed?"

"No..." Stephanie admitted. "...but I've been wrong before."

Tank pulled into the departures lane when they reached the airport. He stopped the SUV and helped Stephanie inside with her bags. Her ticket was first class to Miami. She had a two hour layover there and then she would take a connecting flight to Paradise Island.

"I can't go past the security checkpoint," Tank said. "There's a GPS locator in your purse I want to keep with you at all times. Don't lose it. A man named Wes will meet you at your gate in Miami. Don't lose him either." Noticing the look on her face, Tank put a reassuring hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "Don't worry about Ranger. I'm sure he's fine."

Stephanie nodded. She knew Tank meant for the best, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong where Ranger was concerned.

"You don't think Ranger would do anything stupid do you?"

Tank measured his words carefully.

"No, I don't," he said. "But when it comes to you, Miss Plum, anything is possible."

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks to everyone for the kind reviews! Sorry about the long delay and the short chapter. RL is kicking my butt this month and I haven't had as much time to write as I would like.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four_**

"Welcome to Miami, Florida!" The Captains' voice rang out over the first class cabin, eliciting a sudden surge of relief from Stephanie. She opened her eyes and sighed heavily, thankful they were finally on the ground; she had spent both takeoff and landing with her eyes firmly shut, holding onto the armrests with a grip so tight all the blood had rushed out of her fingers.

Patiently, Stephanie waited for the Captain to turn off the "Fasten Seatbelt" sign. Having flown first class from Trenton to Miami, she wouldn't have to worry about trying to squeeze into the line of passengers eager to unload.

"Ms. Plum?"

Stephanie jumped in her seat. She looked up at a small, red-haired flight attendant and gave a small apologetic smile. "Yes?"

"Your escort has requested you be the first one off the plane," the flight attendant said.

Stephanie gathered her purse and carry on luggage from beneath the seat in front of her and followed the woman to the terminal where several people were waiting. Among them was a tall man dressed all in black. Stephanie didn't have to get close enough to read the Rangeman logo on his shirt to know he was Wes, her escort.

"Welcome to Miami, Ms. Plum," he said.

Stephanie gave him an appreciative smile, but didn't say anything. She could tell this arrangement was as awkward for him as it was for her. She didn't know anything about Ranger's personal life in Miami. And she was almost completely sure Ranger's employees knew as little about his personal life in Trenton.

"Oh, great," Stephanie said as she checked the status of her connecting flight. "My flight's been delayed three hours due to scheduled maintenance. How scheduled can it be if they have to delay a flight three hours?"

Frustrated, Stephanie put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"I don't want to sit in an airport all morning."

Wes was looking more and more uncomfortable. "I have orders not to let you leave the airport."

_Great. I finally take a vacation and I have to spend it in an airport with a babysitter who won't let me have any fun._

Suddenly, Stephanie had an idea…

"What about Rangeman?" Stephanie asked. "Obviously there's an office here and I'll bet it has employee apartments same as the one in Trenton. You could take me there and I could freshen up before my flight to Paradise Island!"

Wes looked like he didn't know how to respond.

"Well?" Stephanie snapped. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to say something?"

"I'll have to call to get clearance," Wes said.

Admitting defeat, Stephanie sighed once more. It was going to be a _long_ day…

* * *

Stephanie was surprised at how similar the Rangeman office in Miami was to the one in Trenton. The only large difference was the choice of color. Rich, vibrant hues of red, blue and yellow replaced the quieter earth tones she had grown used to. She followed Wes through the main lobby to the elevators, pausing only once to admire Ranger's name on the plaque beside the elevator. 

_Carlos Manoso, CEO._

Without thinking, Stephanie reached out and touched it, carefully tracing the letters as if to prove to herself that he did exist afterall.

"Ms. Plum?"

"Huh?"

Wes was holding the elevator door open with his hand, waiting on her to pass through.

Stephanie's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Oh sorry."

Once inside the elevator, Stephanie looked at the buttons. She had counted eight floors when they drove past the building; all of them were represented on the panel. Curious, she turned to Wes.

"Which floor is Ranger's apartment on?"

Wes cleared his throat in response, making Stephanie feel foolish for asking. It occurred to her then that Ranger didn't need a Rangeman apartment in Miami if he had a home in the area...

The elevator stopped on the second floor and Wes took out a small silver key which he then used to unlock one of the doors.

"Let me know if you need anything," Wes said, handing her the key. "I'll meet you in the front lobby in three hours."

"I will. Thanks."

Wes nodded and left her there, feeling tired, hungry, and lonelier than ever before.

* * *

After Wes had gone, Stephanie kicked off her shoes and settled onto the red suede sofa in the sitting area. She turned on an old Meg Ryan movie and tried to relax. It wasn't until she heard the locks tumble on the door that she even realized she had fallen asleep. 

"Ms. Plum?" called Wes's voice from the entryway.

"In here," Stephanie said, still disoriented. A sudden panic overcame her as she realized what had happened. "Oh my god. What time is it?"

"Almost five," Wes said.

"Oh no! My flight leaves in half an hour!"

Stephanie quickly pulled on her shoes and didn't even bother to brush at her hair, though she knew it must have been hideous. She could tell by the way Wes kept looking over at her on the elevator ride to the parking garage.

"I'm going to miss my flight," Stephanie said as Wes stopped at yet another red light on the way to the airport. "No more vacation, no more fun in the sun."

"Rangeman has already talked to the airline. They won't leave without you. We've also arranged for a late check-in at your hotel."

Stephanie smiled with relief. She should have learned by now never to underestimate the power of Ranger.

Wes escorted her as far as the ticket counter, and she rushed to her gate as fast as she could.

"Last call for passenger Plum," she heard over the loudspeaker.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Stephanie shouted, nearly out of breath.

She handed over her ticket and boarded the plane, spotting a tall, dark-haired man in the seat next to hers. His face was hidden behind a newspaper, but she could swear he looked just like…

"Joe?!" she said incredulously.

The man lowered the paper and stared at her with a pair of bright green eyes bracketed by expensive looking frames. His hair and build had so closely resembled that of her ex-fiance's, she was shocked to see that in reality he looked almost nothing like him.

"Sorry," Stephanie said, taking her seat. "I-I thought you were someone else."

"I hope you're not disappointed." The man smiled, offering his hand. "My name is Kevin."

"Stephanie," Stephanie replied. "And no, I'm not disappointed. I'm actually relieved."

"Oh yeah?"

Stephanie nodded. "This was supposed to be my honeymoon," she explained, "but I called off the wedding at the last minute."

"I can see how that would be awkward," Kevin said. "Do you do a lot of traveling?"

Stephanie shook her head. "I haven't even had a vacation in five years that wasn't work related."

"What kind of work do you do?"

"I'm…"

_...a bounty hunter,_ Stephanie almost replied. But then she realized she _wasn't_ a bounty hunter anymore. She had given that up to be Joe's _perfect_ Burg wife. And now she didn't know _what_ she was.

"I'm between jobs at the moment. What about you? Do you travel a lot?"

Kevin smiled. "I get around. I'm a travel writer."

"Wow, that sounds fun."

"It is," Kevin said. "Especially when they bump you from economy to first class."

Kevin swiped two glasses of champagne from the beverage cart as it rolled down the aisle. He handed one to Stephanie and made a toast, "To positive changes."

"To positive changes," Stephanie said, clinking her glass against his.

* * *

It was almost eight o'clock by the time Stephanie finally arrived at her hotel. Despite the unplanned nap she had taken in the Rangeman apartment, she was finding it hard to keep her eyes open. Dragging her feet, she shuffled up to the reception desk and gave them her confirmation slip. 

"It looks like you're already checked in, Mrs. Morelli," the woman behind the counter said. Stephanie cringed at the name, but didn't correct her. "If you'll wait right here, I'll have someone help you with your bags."

Stephanie thanked her and took a seat on one of the leather sofas by the far wall. She remembered them from the brochures she and Joe had looked at when choosing a place to stay on their honeymoon. With her working temp jobs and him on a cop's salary, they hadn't been able to afford an extravagant hotel, but it was still nice.

_Nice,_ Stephanie said to herself. _Whatever happened to great? Spectacular? Mind-blowing?  
_

A pair of high heels clicking on the marble tile interrupted Stephanie's thoughts, followed by a man's laugh. The laugh made Stephanie's blood run cold. She recognized it as though it were her own. Turning her head to follow the sound, Stephanie zoomed in on a man and woman stepping out of the elevator. He had his arm around her waist, his dark eyes on her, his dark hair falling forward as he leaned to whisper something in her ear. And then they were kissing…

Stephanie felt sick to her stomach. She couldn't recall the number of times she felt guilty for waffling between the two men in her life, but she could tell, even from a distance, that he felt nothing even remotely like guilt. All this time, she thought he was in love with her, and now seeing them together, she knew the truth.

She had been a fool all along.

* * *

**_A/N: Sorry for the delay! This one ran longer than I thought it would. _**


End file.
